Day 6 – Final Thoughts

Today is a “get back home” day. Many folks on the tour are driving home – to Seattle, Portland or even South Dakota.  One of the nice ladies I met on the trip, Patsy, is flying back to Alabama and already left the hotel at 4:00 a.m.

I just thought I’d gather some final thoughts here.

First, a HUGE thank you to Jim Brooks, my brother-in-law, for recommending Road Scholar tours to me.

The Road Scholar (non-profit) website?  http://RoadScholar.org

Total distance of the bus tour? 1,068 miles.  My guess of 742 was waaaaaaaay off!

The trip? Left home on a Sunday, returning on Friday. Bus rides on Monday – Thursday.  Cost (I got a room to myself so that cost a bit more): $1,372

Other money I spent during the trip:  $20 for a t-shirt, and $4.05 for a mocha at Starbucks. Oh, and $8.75 + tip for dinner out one night. It was fantastic to have everything, including all tips, handouts, tour guides, bus driver, hotels, food, etc. already paid for.

 

Suggestions for Next Time…

Just some random tips that I want to share – and to remember if there’s another trip in my future.

Things That Have Made Our Trip Nicer

• Don’t bring your best clothes. I have a white bra that’s gradually turned a nice shade of dark gray (I’m now calling it “silver”) with repeated washings.
• Learn to enjoy wrinkles. Doing your own wash? Expect lots of wrinkles. Worried about how your clothes will look in photos? Use lots of close-ups instead.
• Take comfortable clothes. We each packed 3 day’s worth of clothes for the entire trip. We wear the same things over and over again, so they’d better be easy on the body.
• Bring odor-eater shoe liners. Not necessarily that your feet will stink (but they might!), I’ve been replacing the liners in my shoes once a week. We do a lot of walking over here and ahhhhhhhhh – new squishy liners feel great.
• Plan what you’ll do, but don’t be rigid. The weather and special opportunities may cause changes in your plans. Enjoy them!
• Keep one camera ready at all times, set on “automatic”. Sometimes you just have to grab the camera and click.
• Bring a shopping bag that squishes into a small shape. Grocery stores here charge for cheap-o plastic shopping bags so it’s just easier to bring your own. I think in Dingle I was charged 0.16 euros, or about $.25 for one plastic bag. Our fabric shopping bag plus a backpack has worked for us every time.
• Be prepared for rain. Have a hood on your coat, have a way to dry off your camera lens.
• Know how to use your camera and practice before your trip. During your trip is not the time to miss a great shot because you were trying to figure out all the dials and gadgets. Even worse is if your camera’s settings get messed up and you cannot set them back to normal.
• Bring a small, collapsible insulated bag. We freeze water in a little plastic coke bottle overnight and throw that and perishable food in the little insulated bag so we’re ready for lunch on the road. We usually take our own cheese and water and buy fresh baked bread while we’re out.
• Bring a few sticky notes – you can tear them into strips and use them as bookmarks in your travel books and maps.
• Bring something small to do. I brought a little sketch book and pens and work on zentangles when it’s super early in the morning (like now – 6:00 a.m. and Patrick and Amber are still asleep). Patrick has games on his cell phone. Amber plans our route for the next day.
• Be prepared to walk – a lot. And be ready for stairs – a lot. Someone back home reminded me that ADA stands for the American Disabilities Act – and that it’s not a world-wide thing. So true, so true. We’ve seen very few people out and about with even canes, let alone walkers or wheelchairs. It seems like it’s “walk or stay home” around here. There are few curb cuts for wheelchairs, few elevators, no buttons to push to open doors, etc. In London if you use the underground – just remember that it’s often “underground” – which means flights of stairs and long walkways connecting one line with another. Wear comfortable shoes!
• And while I’m on the topic of shoes…if you’re planning on going out in the country and seeing the sites (highly recommended!) bring shoes with good grippy soles. You’ll be walking on gravel, dirt, pavement, rocks, etc. and usually they’re uneven and slippery.
• Look where you’re walking. Surfaces are very uneven and some stone staircases have been worn down to a slope after years of use. Staircases are often steep, narrow and have shallow steps too – my shoes often don’t fit well and I have to step down sideways. Concrete seems to be the walkway material of choice – and it’s hard on the ol’ feet.
• If you have a very strenuous/physical day planned, do it near the end of your trip. That way, if you overdo it and end up with blisters, strained muscles, sore knees, etc., it won’t affect the other important places you want to visit. As an example, we rearranged our trip so that we climbed the 500+ steps to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral near the end of our time in London, and only had walking around the British Museum (for the second time) left for the next day.

Food

• Try something new! I’ve been eating sushi, “double Gloucester” cheese, Irish brown soda bread, Amber and Patrick had Guinness stew last night.
• Eat lots of fresh fruit and veggies. It’s a little expensive, but still cheaper pound for pound that candy bars. There are so many sweets here it’s easy to end up with a grocery bag full of new kinds of chocolates, candy, pastry, etc. I don’t know how the folks over here stay so thin (well yeah, I do – everyone walks everywhere!). We’ve been eating lots of grapes, apples, bananas, and sometimes even strawberries or raspberries.  Tesco makes some great hummus – so I’ve been enjoying that with carrots, broccoli or cauliflower.
• If you can, cook some meals in. It’s expensive to eat out (15 euros for Guinness stew, or about $24.  My small bowl of soup and bread the other day was 4.50 euros – or $7.20).  Some of our favorite meals on this trip have been simple versions of soft tacos, spaghetti with garlic bread, fried egg on toast, eggs and refried beans on tortillas.
• Buy some familiar comfort food – I still buy Diet Coke over here and Amber and Patrick traditionally buy Pringles when they’re on the road (pricey here at $4.80 U.S. a can in the quicky marts!)
• If you’re a Splenda addict (who, me?), bring packs with you. While everywhere there seem to be packs of both white and brown sugar, often there’s no sugar-free options.

That’s it for now. I’ll add more things to this same post as I think of them.

 

Worst Train Ride Ever?

The 4.5 hour train ride from Edinburgh to London was fast, efficient, modern, clean, quiet, and well priced.  And yes, it was one of the worst rides I’ve ever had.

I woke up that morning feeling, well, let’s put it delicately:  unwell.  I skipped breakfast and spent most of the early hours in my room. But, time and pre-paid tickets wait for no one, so the three of us packed up and drove in to Edinburgh.  I have to give Patrick and Amber TONS of credit – I don’t know how they managed to drive through all the city streets and navigate as well as they did – and all with unknown city/street names AND driving on the left side. It was amazing.

Fake Smile on Train

We got to the Waverly train station just fine and it was a bit zoo-ish, but OK.  I found some fresh orange-mango juice that was pretty good. We got on the train just fine (reserved seats thanks to Amber) and headed south.  And that’s when the unwellness got added to with some train sickness. Ug.  I was facing backwards for a bit but couldn’t take it. I tried to sleep but had to keep looking outside to keep the sickness down.  Here’s a picture of me with a nice fake smile!

After what seemed to be an interminable train ride (and I’d so looked forward to it!) we got to the main train station in London – and now it really was a zoo!  My god, the people and noise and signs everywhere. Somehow Patrick and Amber drug me on to the Picadilly underground line and we went through 18 stops to get to our hotel stop.  Did I say:  add “tube-sickness” too?  I was miserable.

Amber and Patrick hauled my luggage and I hauled my sorry butt to our hotel.  I fell into bed at 7:00 pm and felt crappy all night. Ug.  I did get some sleep and the bed was nice and big. I have to admit, it was the biggest room I’d had in some time, it was a “real” hotel and not a B&B – I have to ask myself: why did we stay in B&Bs?

 

Edinburgh

We set off for downtown Edinburgh today.  We took the bus in/out of the city for only £1.20 each way – which is a steal once you see the traffic in Edinburgh.

The Edin Burgh

As near as I can tell, the city of Edinburgh is named after both Edwin, a king of ancient Northumbria, and burgh – the Scottish word for “annoying bug”.  Yup – there were little flying insects after us all the time we were at the Edinburgh Castle.  If we stayed away from groups of people, or stayed in the shade, or found a windy spot then we were okay – otherwise they were all over us.  They landed in my hair, my ears, arm, glasses, face, and even on my camera!

Amber and I started our morning with a nice walk on the beach. Then we gathered up our tourist stuff, grabbed the #26 bus and headed west in to town. Edinburgh Castle is truly inspiring as it sits atop an extinct volcanic core. It looms over the city and our tourist book says that it’s visible for 10 miles in every direction.  It was impressive… until we went inside. It’s turned into a tourist mecca (and boy, were there tourists). There were cafes, gift shops, museums of Scottish military – all inside the castle walls. To me, it just didn’t seem right. And let’s not forget the bugs! The ground was paved stones – uneven and up/down hill all the time. While we got around just fine, I couldn’t understand how the folks with high-heel shoes were managing.

View Toward Edinburgh Castle

I must admit, the views of the city from the castle were amazing – it was a beautiful blue-skied day and it did seem that you could see forever.

We got tired of all the people (and bugs) and went back down into the main part of town. We found an M&S store – which sells clothes, food and such but we focused just on the food hall. It reminded me a lot of a Trader Joe’s.  We grabbed sandwiches, fruit, candy (!), mochas and ate sitting inside.

After that it was getting warmer (a high of 64 today) and we wandered around to the Royal Mile – which apparently means “tourist shops”. Egads. All kinds of wool shops, cashmere shops, kilt shops, souvenirs galore, and the people! We were getting hot, tired and grumpy so we roamed until we found the right bus stop, got on and headed back toward our B&B.

It was an interesting bus ride back to our B&B. At one point the bus pulled over, our driver got out, and a new driver popped in and said “everyone move to the bus in front.” Huh? Apparently we were changing drivers AND buses.  So, we all moved to the other bus, the new driver got in and off we went again.

I’m sitting in my room as I type this. I’m on the 2^nd floor with the windows open. There’s a great cool breeze, the waves are coming in, and little tiny kids in their underwear are playing in the sand. I think it’s obvious that I’m not a big city gal!

 

Our Last B&B

I mentioned earlier that we’re staying at Joppa Turrets – our final B&B (we do spend Wednesday night in a hotel near Heathrow). I thought I’d describe this typical B&B.

Joppa Turrets B&B

Stairwell

What You See To The Right

Even Nessie Does Not Fit Between Bed and Wall

View To The Left

Bathroom

Sunrise

Both of our rooms are upstairs in this older house. The floors creak a bit and are a little uneven, but everything is clean and bright.

My room is tiny – just 9′ wide. As you open the door and look to the right the bed is there – and while I’ve usually had a twin sized bed, while in Edinburgh I get a bed big enough to stretch out in.  You can see that there is enough room on the left side of the bed to get in and out – but the right side is another story.

As you enter the room and look to the left you see the rest of the room – a little table, dresser and mystery door.

I’m pretty sure the mystery door *used* to be a closet, but now it’s a bathroom.  And yes, you *can* sit on the toilet and lean over the sink to brush your teeth at the same time.  It’s super tiny, but hey, it works!

And last night I fell to sleep by the sound of waves, and awoke this morning to beautiful sunrise.

 

We Made it to Edinburgh

So far all of our reservations, B&B’s cars, flights, etc. have been flawless (THANK YOU AMBER). Of course now there are continuing stories of flights being canceled due to the volcanic ash from Iceland.  Add to that a strike by British Airways (our flight back home), and all three of us now have our fingers crossed.

Today we drove from Glasgow to Edinburgh – not really a long drive at all.  We stopped at three planned places along the way, and a third popped up along the way.

Falkirk Wheel

First was the Falkirk Wheel which is better seen in person that read about. It’s a giant lift used to lift boats 35 meters so they can avoid having to go through the equivalent of 11 locks. Very odd and they seem to have tried to turn it into a tourist attraction. We stood and watched a small barge of tourists being lifted up, boat, water and all, then wait, wait, wait, then the barge was lowered again.  It certainly got the point across, but it was something like £8 for the ride, which I didn’t think was worth it (it looked pretty boring; truth be told).

Second was the Forth Bridge in northern Edinburgh. Well, actually there are two Forth Bridges – one for cars and such and another for trains. These bridges cross the Firth of Forth – which can get to be a mouthful! We were interested in the bridge built for trains. While both bridges are one mile long, the one for trains was the first major steel bridge ever built, in 1890. It’s held together by more than eight million rivets. The bridge is so big, and needs constant painting (and yes, there were parts covered up for renovation – see more on this below), that the saying “it’s like painting the Forth Bridge” means something is that non-stop and repetitive.

Forth Bridge

Rosyln Chapel is there somewhere...

Third, we headed south of Edinburgh for the Rosyln Chapel. I’d read that the ceilings inside the chapel were very ornate and a “must see”.  This was also a location where part of the Da Vinci Code movie was filmed. As a side note, we’d seen that virtually ALL of the churches we’ve visited have been undergoing renovation. This means that typically we walk up, and the front ¼ of the building is hidden by scaffolding. I realize this has to be done, and it’s probably an ongoing task, but really – EVERY church?  So, we pull up to Rosyln Chapel and we look off in the distance where we *think* the chapel is.  And we see a metal roof? Over a mass of scaffolding?  Yup – you guessed it. The chapel was undergoing a huge renovation. But I figure, hey, that’s ok since I came to see the interior anyway.  But of course, as we get nearer, there’s a sign saying that there’s scaffolding inside as well and the ceilings are not currently visible.  And for this you’re supposed to pay £8 ?  I don’t think so… so we left… quite disappointed.

But on the way back, we stumbled across an Ikea and a COSTCO!!  Score! I did not like Ikea at all (I felt like part of a herd of cattle being forced down the chute to slaughter) – but of course Costco was great fun. Since I’d heard they had Costco’s over here, I brought my card with me – and it got all three of us in without question. They had typical things like Kirkland brand dog food, but also different things – like hard liquor for one.  It felt so good to be inside!  It was interesting though – the street that Ikea and Costco were on was named Costkea.

New Car for Mike

Finally, we headed for our B&B. It’s on the northeast side of Edinburgh, on the water! Past experiences with B&Bs on the water has not been too great.  But this one rocks – it’s called Joppa Turrets and between my windows and the water is a little garden, a walking path, and sand!  With my windows open I can hear the gentle surf.

 

It’s Like Comin’ Home to Momma!

While trying to find our way from Rosyln Chapel toward the north, we stumbled upon a Costco at Loanhead, Scotland! It’s just south of Edinburgh.  I haven’t felt so comfortable since leaving home!

Costco South of Edinburgh

 

Textures of Bothwell

We went to another castle this morning and frankly it’s becoming “just another castle”.  I decided to approach this castle from the viewpoint of textures – specifically, textures of the rocks in the walls. All of these pictures were taken at just the Bothwell Castle, a bit southeast of Glasgow. It’s mostly made of red sandstone so it was very nice to photograph.

 

Toilets I Have Known and Loved

Here in the United Kingdom they’re not bathrooms, not restrooms and not loos.  But when you really need one, they’re your best friend.

British Airways Club Lounge

London Natural History Museum

Kew Gardens

Greenwich McDonalds

Old Sarum

The Glenlivit

Loch Ness Visitor Center

Cawdor Castle

Dunstaffnage Castle

Rothwell Castle

 

Heading for Glasgow

The wifi at this B&B on the Isle of Skye (Blairdhu House) is interesting – there’s virtually no signal unless you sit on the steps going upstairs. Of course their website says there’s Internet in each room – and I guess just because it’s unusable doesn’t matter?  I’m thinking this place really does not have wifi and we’re just piggy backing on someone else’s signal.  It’ll do, but I’m surprised how dependent I am on the Internet.

The heat in my little bedroom has been odd as well. There are two wall heaters – one in the main room and one in the tiny bathroom. Although they both have dials you can adjust, apparently they only *really* run at certain times of the day. It appears that they turn on at 7:30 a.m. and turn off in about 30 minutes. They also run in the evening around 7:00 until 8:00 – and that’s it!  If you want heat at any other time, too bad.

As I was sitting on the stairs this morning I could hear rain (hail?) hitting the skylight above. Looking out the window now I can see grey clouds everywhere, but not much wind.  I’m glad we’re here in May as I keep reading about the insects that abound – they’re called Midges. Apparently they’re very small and swarm like crazy. And if you smash one then all the others can smell it and will swarm even more. For us, so far, no midges!

We’ll be getting our breakfast soon (poached eggs and toast for me) and heading down south for Glasgow. Patrick’s got 3-4 castles lined up for our shorter drive today.

It’s hard to believe, but our trip is almost over.  I think we spend Saturday and Sunday nights in Glasgow, then Monday and Tuesday in Edinburgh. Wednesday we turn in our rental car and take a train from Edinburgh to Heathrow Airport. From there we’ll jump back on the tube for a quick ride to a hotel we’ve got booked for our last night in the United Kingdom.